What are the key drivers for the growth of digital advertising across Asia in 2019

Better content, better use of data, and better internet connectivity. These are three key themes which will dominate growth of digital advertising across Asia this year. Premium content rules 2018 was a watershed year for Connected TV in Asia, and we can attribute some of the gain at least to the breakthrough global success of The Story of Yanxi Palace. Dubbed the “Chinese Game of Thrones”, Yanxi produced 130 million views per episode and 17 billion streams online in 2018. Why was the series such a smash hit? It had high production values, great writing, a stellar cast - but then, so do most streaming TV series in 2018. One of the most intriguing factors behind Yanxi’s success was the fact that the whole 70-episode drama was based on big data analysis of past viewership patterns of similarly themed shows. The producers are no doubt hoping the same strategy pays dividends for the second season, planned for release in 2019. I’m confident there will be more big data-informed, global hits coming from Asia, which will cement the region as a content force with which to be reckoned. We will also see home-grown Asian streaming services grow and seriously rival the dominance of international players. While Netflix and Amazon Prime are major players today in Connected TV, it is expected that other media companies will emerge in the next few years. Digital TV research predicts that by 2023, three Chinese companies – Tencent, iQiyi, and one other - will top the Asia-Pacific rankings by number of subscribers. By then, total CTV subscribers will more than double the 141 million in the region in 2017 to reach 351 million, two-thirds of them in China. Similarly, we will continue to see strong growth in audio content. Music streaming services such as Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, and SoundCloud – and competitors like Joox in Asia – are increasingly popular and are growing targets for ad tech. This challenges marketers to make the leap from terrestrial radio to digital audio and understand the nuances between the two. Data dominates Brands are increasingly using consumer data to make better advertising decisions, and I can only see that trend continuing in 2019. Fortunately for digital marketers, the Southeast Asian market is a data-rich environment for ad targeting opportunities. According to the eMarketer's report - Internet and Mobile Users in Asia-Pacific: eMarketer's Country-by-Country Forecast for 2017–2021: • In 2017, nearly 1.90 billion internet users resided in Asia Pacific -- making up more than half of the world’s digital population. • At least 70.1% of internet users in the region use a smartphone. What these numbers signify is a massive opportunity for brands to reach their target audiences. However, the major global social media players Google and Facebook don’t allow for third-party measurement, which can impede determining campaign success. In 2019, for media agencies to continue to have a healthy business, they need more options than just Google and Facebook. I predict that we will continue to see agencies in this region look beyond the walled gardens in 2019, as they explore innovative ways to interact with relevant users digitally. The force of 5G Another consideration for 2019 is the implementation of 5G, the next generation of mobile internet connectivity, offering faster speeds and more reliable connections on smartphones and other devices than ever before. 5G networks are expected to launch across the world by 2020, with China and Korea cited as leaders of the adaptation in Asia Pacific. People in these countries will have access to more content, for the simple fact that the content will be cheaper and faster to download than ever before. That means for advertisers, there will be even more opportunity to put your brands in front of these audiences. 5G will also help to power a huge rise in Internet of Things technology, providing the infrastructure needed to carry huge amounts of data, allowing for a smarter and more connected world. With this promise of a world of high-speed connections and access to unprecedented levels and quality of data, brands are realizing that owning their own data is critical. This is the future of digital advertising in Asia. The convergence of digital and traditional advertising, and the massive volume of data that is now available, means advertisers can more effectively target their audiences in myriad ways.   This article is brought to you by Henry Shelley, general manager, Southeast Asia, The Trade Desk.